“To the cloud!” was Microsoft's rallying-cry, and it appears most organizations agree it's inevitable that portions of their business will end up relying on cloud computing in the near future. Still, it also appears that significant security concerns remain that could slow cloud adoption.

Those are the findings of a new survey by GreenSQL, a database security company based in Tel Aviv, Israel. It asked its respondents “What is your main security concern when moving your database to the cloud?” and found a number of concerns identified:

-- 31 percent: I do not trust the level of security in cloud services
-- 28 percent: Compliance and regulations requirements do not allow moving data to the cloud
-- 22 percent: I cannot control my data on the cloud
-- 19 percent: Cloud services are not mature yet

“People are naturally concerned about their data and perceived vulnerabilities when migrating to the cloud,” said Amir Sadeh, CEO of GreenSQL, in a statement. “Even the responses about control and the technology's maturity are tinged with concerns about security. The cloud is still a new, uncharted territory for many, and trusting data to the cloud borders on an act of faith.”

A bevy of recent incidents shows that concern is real. Cloud-based file sharing service DropBox has been targeted by spammers, Apple's iCloud has been breached, and a hacking incident exposed millions of LinkedIn passwords. With more companies, particularly small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) relying on the cloud for delivering applications and storing customer data, GreenSQL said database security must be part of any cloud solution.

"Companies have to be concerned about the risk to their reputations and bottom lines. SMBs recognize that database protection in the cloud is essential not only to remaining in compliance with regulations, but also to ensure customers' confidence that their records are safe.” said. Sadeh.